This European-Inspired Wedding in Wisconsin Was a Floral Fairy Tale

Alexis and Frank met through their parents, who are good friends—and thought their kids would be, too. Turns out, they were right: When Frank came home to Chicago for his brother's wedding, the two got each other's numbers, started texting, and hit it off. But when Frank's appendix almost burst the week they planned to meet up, Alexis faltered; she was sure he made up an excuse to get out of the date. When they finally did get together in January 2018, her worries were quickly soothed—Frank certainly was interested (and that date became the first of many).

In September 2019, after a long day at work, Alexis arrived home with the plan to finish up her project before bed. But Frank convinced her to go for a walk on their favorite trail with their dog, Gunner, instead. "It was the last thing in the world I wanted to do, since I was so preoccupied," Alexis says. On the walk, Frank said his leg hurt and started to bend down, shocking Alexis with a surprise proposal.

The couple originally planned to tie the knot in the fall of 2020, but the pandemic caused them to push their date back a year and change the location of their reception. They luckily were able to keep their ceremony at The Straits Chapel and invited their 160 guests to Riverbend Kohler in Kohler, Wis., for a tented reception on October 2, 2021. "We both loved the old Scottish feel of the hills and scenery," Alexis says. "The brick buildings were gorgeous and gave off a romantic scene that kind of transported you outside of Wisconsin. Plus, we knew that being from Chicago, this would be an easier destination for some of our guests."

Their extended planning period paid off—and the wedding was worth the wait. The pair worked with Kate Dawson Events to pull off their vision of an elevated, food-forward, and flower-filled wedding day with a color scheme of mauve, tan, navy, maroon, and cream. 

Custom Floral Invitations

The couple's custom invitation suite, designed by Emily Rose Ink, consisted of blue linen keepsake boxes lined with hand-illustrated watercolor floral patterns of the flowers used at the wedding. "Emily created numerous hand-illustrated floral patterns for our wedding, two of which were featured in our invitation suite on the box and the wrap," Alexis says. "The flowers in those patterns were the exact varieties that Kelly Lenard used in the floral arrangements at the wedding, so the invitations really set the mood this way."

The suite's cards featured blue letterpress edged with gold mounted on dusty blue velvet paper, while other paper had a mix of letterpress and flat-printed watercolor details, such as a layered booklet of the wedding weekend details. The set was held together with a soft floral wrap tied with a caramel velvet ribbon; a monogram wax seal was the finishing touch.

A Warm Welcome

The couple thoroughly enjoyed dreaming up guests' welcome boxes. "They were filled with some of our favorite treats (sugar cookies, popcorn, and italian almonds) and included some beautiful bespoke elements by Emily Rose Ink (a candle wrapped in our custom toile design, tissue paper that matched our invitations, and a beautiful keepsake welcome note)," they say. "We made sure to incorporate both Kohler treats (local chocolates) and Chicago treats (Garrett popcorn). Flourish Cake Design also created some custom cookies for the box, as well."

Antique Vibes

Alexis initially started her wedding-dress search looking for a vintage-inspired dress with long sleeves and delicate detailing. She showed her bridal consultant, Marissa, her Pinterest board for inspiration. "She was able to pick up on the styles I was looking for right away," Alexis says. "She even got me to try on a full puffy dress with pockets!"

In the end, it was a beaded Ersa Atelier gown with a plunging neckline that sealed the deal. "When we put the belt on with the dress, I knew it was the one," Alexis says. "It was sleek, but also romantic with an antique vibe."

Alexis' parents gifted her an aquamarine ring as her "something blue." "The stone belonged to my grandmother," the bride says. "My parents had it set into a ring and gave it to me on my wedding day." She also wore earrings that were a gift from Frank and Jimmy Choo shoes to complete her bridal look.

Burgundy Bouquet

Alexis held a loose cascading garden style bouquet featuring garden roses, hydrangea, orchid, smoke bush, raintree pod, astilbe, yarrow, celosia, sea oat grass, hanging amaranthus, burnet, thistle, and leucothoe in shades of champagne, mauve, and cream with hints of deep burgundy, plum, and blue.

Bridesmaids in Blue

Alexis' bridesmaids wore blue velvet gowns from Jenny Yoo. "I loved velvet and knew that my friends would look so beautiful in the rich blue hue!" she says.

The Groom's Attire

Frank chose a classic black tuxedo and shoes from Zegna for his big-day look.

In-Bloom Lapel

The groom's boutonnière featured hellebore, thistle, celosia, yarrow, heather, burnet, sea oat grass, astilbe, heuchera, and nandina; it was tied with blue velvet ribbon.

Dapper Groomsmen

Frank had one rule for his groomsmen: bring your own suit (which most of the guys already owned).

Heading to the Chapel

Alexis and Frank's ceremony took place at The Straits Chapel; the couple's florist embellished the front of the chapel with branches, foliage, garden roses, dahlias, and other florals. 

The flowers continued from the entrance down the aisle—and terminated in an asymmetrical archway at the altar, which incorporated blooms, foliage, and more branches.

Petal Cones

As guests arrived at the ceremony, they were greeted by a vintage table display of garden baskets filled with cones of petals for guests to toss post-ceremony. The station was also decorated with whimsical arrangements of flowers that looked like they were growing from the drawers.

The Bride's Debut

Alexis walked down the aisle of the chapel arm-in-arm with her dad as a string quartet played "Here Comes The Sun" by The Beatles. Emily Rose Ink create a custom patterned aisle runner that coordinated with the invitation suite.

Traditional Vows

The bride and groom exchanged traditional vows during their religious service. "Monsignor Velo, a family friend from Chicago, performed our beautiful ceremony," Alexis says. "He did so in a way that felt beautifully traditional, but also personal."

A Flower-Filled Highlight

After the ceremony, the duo's guests cheered as they exited the chapel. "One of the most special moments of the day was the floral confetti toss as we left the chapel," Alexis says. "Walking down that path lined with all our friends and family as Mr. and Mrs. was an amazing moment."

Getaway Flower Truck

Alexis and Frank jumped into a vintage Ford truck filled with flowers after the ceremony.

The Cocktail Hour

After driving around in the vintage truck for a bit, Alexis and Frank joined their guests at Riverbend Kohler for cocktail hour. Loved ones enjoyed music from a string quartet and nibbled on passed appetizers like ahi tuna tartar, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, seared scallops, and crab cakes. 

Along with an open bar, the couple served three signature drinks. They went with a bourbon sip with mango jam, fresh lime, and honey as Frank's choice, a blueberry mojito for Alexis, and a cosmopolitan (which is the mother of the bride's favorite). "We had a blast picking out our signature drinks!" Alexis says.

Monogrammed Drinks

Some of the cocktails were even embellished with the couple's wedding date.

The Reception Tent

The reception took place outside underneath a sailcloth tent; the entrance was lined with lanterns and draped in florals. "Every single detail was intentional," Alexis says. "The design team, headed by Kate and my mom, worked tirelessly for two years to source linens, china, vintage lounge furniture, and custom light fixtures—and then put it all together."

A circular bar was placed at the center of the tent underneath a custom light installation. The bar and lights were draped in greenery to bring some of the outdoor ambience into the space.

The Escort Cards

Custom wrapped escort cards were completed with wax seals and displayed on a vintage sideboard cabinet that was decorated with greenery and organic flower arrangements.

Rows of Tables

The tent was filled with a variety of table styles, some draped with velvet linens and others with gauze runners.

Textural Numbers

Table numbers were framed in a floral-embossed fabric.

Colorful Centerpieces

Centerpieces were a mix of florals in shades of white, champagne, mauve, and cream with touches of blue and deep burgundy. Place settings featured vintage china and velvet linen napkins. 

The Lounge Areas

Two lounge areas were set up within the tent so guests could get comfortable and mingle. Emily Rose Ink created the custom throw pillows, which featured one of the duo's signature floral patterns.

The Couture Cake

Alexis drew inspiration from her vendors when dreaming up her wedding cake. The bottom tier of the confection featured an edible image print of Emily Rose Ink's artwork. The top three layers were covered in off-white lace fondant inspired by her dress. "I wanted the pattern to be as exact as possible, therefore I couldn't use a stencil or lace mat—it was all hand-piped in royal icing and each edible pearl was placed individually," Alexis says. "For the hand-crafted sugar flowers, I tried to replicate not only the pattern from the paper goods, but the feel and flow of the actual flowers to represent Kelly's style."

Guests were served two flavors; a carrot-walnut cake with vanilla cream cheese filling and a devil's food chocolate cake with milk chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries.

On the Dance Floor

The couple's live band, Green Light Chicago, got everyone onto the dance floor with a mix of contemporary and classic hits. "I don't think I've ever been to a wedding that had a dance floor and almost every guest dancing the entire reception," says the bride. "It made the experience that much better!"

Alexis' dad saved a special surprise for the end of the night: playing "Piano Man" on the harmonica as a tribute to those who couldn't be with their family on the wedding day (as a kid, he'd always have it blasting on the stereo in the basement while playing pool).

The Fireworks

The evening ended with a fireworks show and a walk to the local bar. To couples currently planning a wedding, they offer these words of wisdom: "Focus on why the wedding is happening and not on the wedding itself," they say. "Don't sweat any issues or problems because the whole point is marrying the love of your life. Then dance and enjoy the love and friendship with the people there with you!"

Sources

Photography, Rodeo and Co Photography
Ceremony Venue, The Straits Chapel
Reception Venue and Catering, Riverbend Kohler
Wedding Planning and Event Design, Kate Dawson Events
Videography, Vaughter Films
Flowers, Kelly Lenard
Invitations and Paper Products, Emily Rose Ink
Bride's Dress and Veil, Ersa Atelier
Bride's Shoes, Jimmy Choo
Hair and Makeup, Tricia Clarke Bridal
Bridesmaids' Attire, Jenny Yoo
Groom's Attire, Zegna
Groom's Accessories, JORIE
Music, Green Light Chicago
Cake, Flourish Cake Design
Rentals, Chance Productions, Nuage Designs, Festive Frog, Relics Rental, Parker Drive, Bowery and Bash, Cedar and Spice
Vintage Truck, Erasistable Vintage Rentals